1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to event image recording systems and event image recording methods that continuously record images input from cameras, manage the image recorded at an alarm occurrence time and images that are recorded before and after the occurrence as an event image, and display the event image by means of a surveillance terminal connected to a network.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years surveillance systems have been in use that record images from cameras installed in a bank, parking area, convenience store, a large shop, or in the street. Among such systems, the apparatus recited in Laid-Open Japanese Patent Publication No.2000-339923 is one that, when triggered by a sensor alarm and such, records and manages images from around an alarm occurrence hour as an event and that furthermore retrieves and plays the event. This apparatus records camera images from around an alarm occurrence hour as an event image, and, when a number of events occur in a certain order, defines these events as a macro event. Moreover, with the above apparatus, it is possible to make management data that associates a number of event images and to monitor and analyze the situation of the recorded area quickly and with ease by, referring to such management data.
However, with the above conventional apparatus, when the surveillant wants to check both the suspicious behaviors that the surveillance object demonstrates while in a surveillance area and the suspicious behavior that the surveillance object demonstrates on his transfer path to the surveillance area, the problem arises that the operation to retrieve each image is complex and such retrieval is time-consuming.